beauty

What is beauty? Is it in the eye or the ear or the spirit of the beholder? I believe so. Dictionary.com defines beauty as:

1. the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).

There are many things that I find beautiful in life. Here are a few that I encountered this summer so far:

1) The endless palette of green used in nature
2) The smile of a 4 year old with a mischievous grin
3) The face of a 91 year old woman with years of laughter, tears and wisdom etched on her face
4) A Saskatchewan thunderstorm
5) The pink light on the mountains at around 10 p.m. on a summer evening in Banff
6) The vulnerability of tears among friends
7) The face of a groom watching his bride come down the aisle
8) Matthew Barber's voice when he sings "Where the river bends"
9) Jim Cuddy smiling at me
10) New Canadians celebrating Canada Day and their new lives in Canada

really?

right now, my question to God is "really?"

while i am grateful for my deep faith, there are no answers.
another tragedy has struck friends - the nearest and dearest friends.
it makes me wonder if this is the summer of grief for those close to me.
my eyes have shed more tears in the last 2 months than in the past 5 years.

yesterday, at a wedding, I was laughing & dancing one moment and then dealing with a wave of grief in the next moment. the mystery of sorrow and joy as companions in life made sense yesterday. there is often pockets of joy in the depths of sorrow. Henri Nouwen (a favourite author of mine) writes about this paradox in his book "Can you drink the Cup?"

i need to re-read that book.

a new toy

at heart, i think i am a graphic designer. if my career in community investment doesn't work out (or if one day i need a change - which is more likely), i think i will become a designer. i love the way words can be placed on a page and look alive. and yesterday, i found a toy on the internet that places words so beautifully on the page. it is called wordle. play with it one day and see how you can make words dance. i believe they are called word clouds.

here are a couple of my word clouds i made tonight:

this one i made to frame for my friends wedding on the weekend (just something to go with the generic and ubiquitous gift card)

this one is just the words from one of my favorite songs/poems "Phenomenal Woman"

family visits

I am home from a road trip to my birthplace - Regina, Saskatchewan. My cousin Jen and I went to visit my Grandma as her health hasn't been stellar in recent months. It was a good road trip with the right music which makes any trip perfect. I also appreciate the conversations and the quiet spaces that our cousin/friendship allows.

My grandma and me by Wascana Lake in Regina

Our grandma was in better spirits and health than we expected. She was delighted to see us and had a number of pleasure outings for us to do. She practically wore us out.

While in Regina, we stayed with my aunt and uncle. It was fantastic to visit with them. I think that I get older, the more I appreciate family and my roots. It was a weekend full of stories and memories from everyone. Thank you Uncle Del & Aunty Ginny!

It is also fascinating to explore your childhood city through grown-up eyes. Jen and I browsed the Cathedral/13th Avenue district one morning and while there, we found info on the Regina Fringe Festival. So, in celebration of Jen's 31st birthday, we took in the "Wizard of One" show and then out for martinis at a restaurant called La Bodega.

The Cathedral - the namesake of the district in Regina

It was a quick 4 day trip (which included the 2 days of driving) but it was well worth it. I know the time I have with my grandma is drawing to a close. I learn so much from her everytime I visit her. She is a strong and gracious woman.

This is the view for most of the trip

show and tell

i was remembering back to grade school when you would bring a treasure to school and tell your classmates about it. i wonder why that was part of the school experience...perhaps to gain some public speaking skills. personally, i love sharing so here are some things I will show and tell with you.

1) no cupboard doors

a couple weeks ago, i was reading my addiction and one of the posts was about open shelving in the kitchen. thus inspired, i took some doors off my cupboards. after living with the open concept for awhile, i think i will keep it. there is plan to paint the walls and the backs of the open cupboards to make my dishes pop.

2) perks of the job

stampede is in full swing and one of the perks of my job is invitations to some parties around town. i went to one on sunday for pengrowth....and who was there? no other than my boyfriend jim cuddy from blue rodeo. yes, i was in the front row (on the grass) and yes, he smiled right at me. however, i forgot my camera and phone in the car so i have no proof of this intimate encounter but it was a good time. here is a picture of my boyfriend:

3) more pictures

my friend bobbi sent me her pictures of our trip to europe. i will be posting them on my picasa site shortly. check them out when you are bored sometime. http://picasaweb.google.com/bateman.sj/EuropeTripPicsByBobbi